Meddling People of a Certain Age
by Scarlet Secret
Summary: Heading to a police team-building weekend the foursome get lost in the country and encounter vanishing bodies, phantom gunshots, deflated tyres, malfunctioning phones, a great deal of running, unresolved tensions and one of them being kidnapped.
1. Chapter 1

1.

"Were you a Daddy-long-legs in a previous existence Hathaway?"

Sergeant Hathaway chose not to comment and instead sent a withering glance at Doctor Hobson before returning his attention to the ten pence piece he was fiddling with in one hand and grudgingly eating the ham sandwich in the other, cursing his bad luck. From the front seat of the car Inspector Lewis snorted at the Doctor's comment and Hathaway not only cursed his bad luck to lose the coin toss over who had to sit in the back seat, but also cursed the older pair of friends and how they always laughed at each other's terrible jokes. In the driver's seat Innocent was quite clearly more than a little uncomfortable about being stuck with such a close-knit threesome but was valiantly making an effort to join in their conversation.

"Oh leave him alone Doctor, he's not big enough for you yet."

Hobson laughed and Lewis looked at his superior like she had grown a second head. A second head he preferred to the first one. Hathaway was convinced that he didn't have the room to laugh – sat behind the passenger seat he had been forced to rest his legs on Hobson's lap as they couldn't fit underneath the seat. It was really quite superbly embarrassing and Hobson was taking every opportunity to make things worse.

"Remind me again why you have such a small car Ma'am?"

"It's economical Sergeant. Now be quiet and finish your food."

Not for the first time that day Hathaway also cursed the fact that he was recovering from an illness but had been allowed to come on the so-called 'team bonding' weekend on the understanding that he kept his strength up. Something Hobson had interpreted as force feeding him ham sandwiches. He knew she was enjoying this a little bit too much but as she had the full-force of an MD behind her he found it impossible to disagree as he would have done with his policing superiors.

"There's no point complaining Hathaway, it's barely one now, we're going to be in this car until at least seven."

"Can we swap at some point Sir? Or can I drive for a bit?"

"You're not driving my car. It was a birthday present."

"From Mr Innocent?"

Hobson spoke almost distractedly but Hathaway saw her eyes meet Lewis' in the wing mirror before both of them looked away smirking, he knew all about their long-standing joke concerning the existence of Mr Innocent.

"Well it was from myself actually."

"Ah, Ma'am, I've been there more times than I care to think about."

Lewis' faux wistful tones caused Innocent to glare over at him vaguely. Laura reached forward and rubbed his shoulder.

"Oh poor you... Robbie for god sake when was the last time you wore this jumper, I think your hairs thicker than the wool around the neck?"

"Old cricket jersey. Only clean thing I could find this morning."

"Trust the only clean thing you own to be white."

The corner of Lewis' mouth twitched up into a smirk and with as little flourish as he could muster he threw the soft, red scarf that Hathaway had bought him last Christmas around his neck, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to warm up before Innocent took pity on him and turned up the heating.

In the back Hathaway rolled his eyes and took off his jacket, already feeling the sweat through the thin green t-shirt he had put on that morning. Why was he always the only warm one?


	2. Chapter 2

2.

For three hours the time passed in an amicable fashion; Lewis and Hobson spoke longingly of the food they anticipated in Scotland, Innocent insisted repeatedly that there was a point to this weekend that wasn't to do with eating and drinking (which was met with derisive snorts from her colleagues) and Hathaway tried to read a book, unsuccessfully as it turned out he was the third in the car to read it and thus it kept being spoilt.

The light was beginning to fade due to the wintery months and though the country scenery was beginning to blur into one Hathaway was still able to recognise a phone box they had passed twenty minutes before due to the graffiti scrawled over it. The waning light and headlights cast shadows over the roads and for a split-second Hathaway could have sworn he saw a person-like outline next to the box.

"Ma'am?"

"Shut up Hathaway."

He tried to swivel in his seat to look back but there was nothing there.

"What are you doing?"

He turned back to see his fidgeting had awoken the dozing Hobson, who did not look best pleased to be basically kicked into consciousness.

"Erm..." her gaze bore into him. "Nothing. My imagination."

"Speaking of which Ma'am," it seemed Lewis had also re-entered the land of the living. "Is it my imagination or is your sat-nav off? Please tell me that means we're close?"

Innocent's grip on the steering wheel made her knuckles whiten and she pulled up to the side of the road.

"I have no idea. It stopped working about half an hour ago."

Lewis and Hobson exchanged glances as Innocent looked pained.

"So, where are we?"

Innocent didn't have to answer before Lewis dived for the glove box, in which the expected A-Z was absent.

"If I had one Lewis don't you think I'd have used it by now?"

Sighing Hathaway took the opportunity to slide himself out of the car, reasoning that he at least had time for a cigarette. He was shocked when everyone else followed his example and glumly put his pack back in his pocket – he could do without the lectures more than he could do with the nicotine. Instead he pulled out his phone and noticed with some trepidation that there didn't appear to be any signal. He looked up at his companions and saw Hobson doing the same; they exchanged a glance of concern and turned to Lewis and Innocent as one and their expressions as they looked at their own phones didn't give them much hope.

"Any ideas Sir?"

"There's a sign over there, you eyes are better than mine Jim."

Hathaway squinted into the distance, not bothering to point out that he wore contacts lenses and Lewis didn't.

"Lower Alithwaite?"

"Right, we've got a name at least, anyone have a blind clue where that is?"

They all shook their heads, looking more than a little concerned.

"Right," Lewis recognised his superior's voice as having shifted into her authoritarian mode. "So no one knows where we are, no one can get a signal..." They all automatically checked their phones again, Lewis wasn't entirely sure whether his was actually turned on or not but he chose to keep silent. "It's getting dark and-"

"What's that noise?"

What their fourth problem was Lewis would never know after Laura cut Innocent off. He listened hard, not losing eye contact with the Doctor, but completely unable to hear anything over the wind.

"I swear I just heard someone moaning."

"Might have been me enjoying the extension of my legs."

"No, I think it was more pained than relieved."

"You're an expert on types of moans now then?"

Despite the increasing seriousness of the situation Laura still found time to raise her eyebrow at Hathaway in mockery. He chose to ignore her but Lewis stifled a snort and Innocent wished dearly she'd got in the car with the DCIs.

"It's getting louder."

Before any of them could stop her Hobson took off in the direction of the sounds. Sighing Lewis followed after her and as he did hear a dual locking system being activated he assumed the others were also on the Doctor's tail.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

Lewis had to marvel at the apparent scope of Laura Hobson's hearing as they had been running (well, jogging and panting in his and Innocent's case) for nearly five minutes now, heading further and further into the growth of trees, the light decreasing ever more as the wood became denser.

"Over here!"

He followed to sound of Hobson's voice into a small clearing and for a brief moment he thought she had been hurt, however as he got nearer he saw the body she was crouched over.

"Bloody hell."

"Accurate as ever Lewis, I think I've got half this poor guys blood on my hands."

He peered around her.

"Is he?"

"He is now. The blood was still pumping pretty strongly when I got here but..."

He put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright Laura, you couldn't have got here any quicker."

She shuffled away from him a little but he recognised that she was trying to get a better look at the wound rather than pulling away from touch. He glanced back and saw the other two hovering in the largest gap between the trees, nervously looking around.

"So, his wound is new?

Hobson ignored Innocent's query and began unbuttoning the man's shirt.

"I need some light."

"I've got a few torches in the car. We'll be right back."

"Oh, and I could do with getting my hair out my face..."

Hathaway took one brief look at the body and nodded in Laura's direction before following Innocent back towards their vehicle. Lewis rolled his eyes and crouched down on the ground next to the Doctor.

"Laura, are you going to give me a straight answer?"

"Don't I always?"

She didn't look at him but he could sense her worry at the situation.

"Was he murde-?"

"I don't know Robbie. Not yet."

"Well I might need a report in fewer than your usual ten hours. Your records six and a half but I don't think that'll do it at the moment."

He felt her glare but he also reached out for her hand and was aghast at how cold she was, the light of the day had only just gone in and she was usually so warm. He reached into his top pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, wiping the blood smears that he could see off her hand.

"What if he has been?"

He didn't need to answer but instead he awkwardly placed an arm around her shoulder. If what they both feared was true then the circumstances were about to take a dramatic turn for the worse. She shuffled into him a little, moving them both away from the body until they were resting against the closest tree, unconsciously shielding themselves from the view of anyone approaching.

"Robbie...?"

He was absently pulling a leaf out of her hair when he turned to her and saw the slight glimmer of fear in her eyes – it was entirely unfamiliar on her.

"Yeah I know. They'll be back any minute."

Laura wrapped an arm around his stomach and rested her head against his shoulder, listening as hard as she could over the increasingly rapid pace of Robbie's heartbeat for any sign of their companions return and a reprieve from her growing fear.


	4. Chapter 4

4.

Fifteen minutes passes by Robbie's watch before Laura got so anxious that she started pacing. It was something he'd only ever seen her do once, nearly ten years ago now when she had taken three days to identify the cause of death in child that the CID was convinced was an accident, but she had carried on regardless and eventually been proved right; Lewis had watched her pace endlessly during those three days and had taken the exhausted woman home at the end of the week, with instructions from Val to feed her soup and not let her get out of bed for at least a day. Unfortunately locking Hobson in her own house was not an option this time.

"Laura, they'll be back any minute, don't worry."

"There's a killer out there Lewis. You may be used to this but I prefer my nice safe little lab."

He had a feeling that making a joke might not go down too well. Instead he got up and placed himself in her path, placing his hand on her shoulders.

"Laura. They will be back. Your supersonic hearing would have heard something if there was any trouble."

She rested her hands on top of his before leaning up to kiss his cheek, inadvertently catching the edge of his mouth as well.

"Thank you."

Lewis felt his breathing getting heavier and was leaning in to catch her lips with his when-

"We're back!"

Together Lewis and Hobson mumbled 'Bloody Hathaway' before separating and welcoming the dual beams of light from their returning companions.

"Two torches good enough for you Doctor?"

She grumbled mildly as she held out her hand for the bunch of something Innocent had pulled from her pocket.

"What are these?"

"Bandages. From the first aid kit."

Under normal circumstances Lewis was quite convinced Laura would have laughed herself silly at the offer but this night seemed to be getting further and further away from them and so she reached for the bandages.

"_Purple_ bandages?"

"Don't mock, I have young nieces."

Rolling her eyes Hobson managed to pull her hair back with the purple linen, looking over at Lewis, as though daring him to laugh.

"Right, Jean can you keep the light on his face and shoulders for now..."

"Why?"

"Generally one needs light to see."

"I know but why do you need to see the body...? Surely you don't think you're going to examine the thing?"

"I am a Pathologist."

"It's the middle of the night."

"I know it's not your field of expertise Chief-Inspector but people do die in the night."

"We're in the middle of the woods for god's sake! You're not performing an autopsy _here_!"

"You daft bloody woman. I'm not going to start cutting him up...what do you take me for?"

Innocent and Hobson went quiet. Lewis and Hathaway, having kept catching each other's eye throughout the dialogue, looked around awkwardly, the latter still holding his torch on the Doctor and the former scuffing his feet on the ground.

"I haven't got my kit to begin with."

Lewis bit his lip and Hobson busied herself with the body, her hair no longer able to conceal her smirk.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

They trudged back to the car with various levels of dejection. Hathaway was pleased to get away from the body, Laura was horrified at having to leave it unattended and whilst Innocent couldn't help but feel discomfort in the pit of her stomach that they couldn't follow procedure she herself was pleased to be away from the cadaver. Reaching the car they all took a surreptitious look around but the landscape was still deserted.

Immediately Innocent turned the heater up as far as it would go.

"As a matter of interest Ma'am how much petrol do we have left?"

She turned off the heater and considered for a minute.

"If we just drive god only knows where we'll end up. And we'll probably run out of petrol before we get anywhere."

"So we're not going anywhere."

Lewis clearly wasn't expecting an answer.

"I'm having a fag."

Hathaway slid out of the passenger seat gracefully.

"I think I'll go with him."

"I thought it was an indicator of stress."

"I think being stranded in the middle of nowhere, when it's getting dark, with no signal and knowing that there's a body in the woods counts as a stressful situation."

"Fair enough."

Hobson followed the Sergeant out and after a brief moment of silence between Lewis and innocent they also got out - habitually the Superintendent locked the car, the silence of the woods being pierced once more by the dual locking system.

Hobson and Hathaway turned towards them, only visible by the twin embers glowing in the dark now that the light from the car had been turned off.

"Jesus, it's like being caught by the teachers at school."

Lewis laughed along with Hobson at his Sergeant's comment and had a feeling that, had she not been in pitch black, he would have been able to see Innocent smiling too.

Before any of them could respond a deafening sound caused them all to jump.

_Bang!_


	6. Chapter 6

6.

Despite their bravado and experience none of the foursome were above being terrified of gunshots coming from god only knows where.

"Where are the keys?!"

There was another shot and a rattle.

"On the floor!"

On the other side he saw Innocent bob down behind the car and another shot rang out.

"Forget it! Move! Come on!"

He grabbed the nearest person, who happened to be Hathaway, and started to pull him along as he started to run away from the direction of the shots. Behind him he heard several other sets of feet hitting the leaves and branches as they dashed madly through the trees until Lewis felt like his lungs would explode unless they stopped.

Hathaway crashed into the back of him.

"You alright Sir?"

"Yeah, can't run anymore though, where are the girls?"

"I'm here."

He felt Innocent's hand on his shoulder.

"Laura?"

Slowly, agonizingly it dawned on Lewis that he could only hear three people's laboured breath.

"Where the hell's Laura?"

"I don't know - she was right behind me!"

"Hathaway, where's that torch?"

He turned it on and shone it around the smaller group, seeing Innocent's slightly flushed face and Lewis' rising panic. He moved the beam round the surrounding area, the small light only reaching ten feet at the most and forcing them to retrace their hurried steps back to the car.

"Laura!"

"Laura!"

"Bloody hell, what's that?"

Hathaway couldn't see it and neither, it seemed, could Innocent, but Lewis darted forward and picked something off the ground. He held it into the light and Hathaway felt his stomach sink – it was the purple bandage, still knotted and with a few strands of blonde hair remaining.


	7. Chapter 7

7.

It took them ten minutes to drag Lewis back to the car and that was even with him running every now and then when he was half convinced Hobson might be back at the car. She wasn't and all three of the police officers found themselves at a complete loss as to how to find the Doctor.

"Well she can't have gone far. She was with us when we started running...she was definitely with us. I could swear she was right behind me."

Hathaway raised his eyebrow.

"You don't sound too sure Ma'am."

"She WAS with us."

"Well she bloody isn't now!"

They both looked at Lewis. He had been silent since they got back, lost in his own thoughts and the others hadn't been able to offer any words of comfort. He still had his head in his hands but appeared to be joining the conversation.

"It's dark, we don't know the area, there's already one dead body out there and the killer can't be too far away. And now Laura's missing..."

"We'll find her."

Finally he lifted his head and met Innocent's eye.

"How?"

They sat silently, none of them able to think of any bright ideas of what to do next.

_BANG!_

Another ringing gunshot made them all jump and they froze, glad that they hadn't thought to turn the car light on and trying to work out if the gun was as close as it had sounded. Hathaway, in the driver's seat at last, spoke first.

"Can you two feel that?"

They could. The car was dipping down towards the front right.

"The tyre..."

"Alright, keep calm," Hathaway tried desperately to keep his voice a steady as possible. "If we get out, keep as low as possible and try to head back towards where the body was. We'll be able to get away and find Hobson."

The others nodded and held their breaths as they opened the door as silently as possible. Lewis took a moment to be impressed at how low Innocent was able to keep when the occasion called for before the three of them set off through the trees in a hunched run. They straightened up when they had put a fair distance between themselves and the car and Hathaway mused that this particular passage through the woods had been run through more times in the last hour than it had been in years.

They slumped against the nearest tree and Lewis recognised the area as the same one that had once contained the body – they had instinctively run the same way, except now, there was no sign of a corpse. Hathaway suddenly stood up to his full height and twisted his head to look into a random patch of darkness.

"What's-?"

"Shhh."

Hathaway strained his ears and wasn't sure for a moment but...yes! There it was. The low hum of a car engine.

"Follow me."


	8. Chapter 8

8.

Through the thinning trees Lewis could smell the acridity of the petrol emanating from the nearby car. All three of them huddled behind the nearest branch, watching the empty car with some trepidation and trying to assess the situation through their panic.

"Well, the car's empty."

"Which doesn't necessarily mean there's no one around."

"We have to look, it has to belong to out friendly gunman, it might have his ID, or his bullet...or we can at least steal his car!"

"Oh bugger it!"

Before the other two could react Lewis had jumped over the branch and was running towards the car, finding the doors unlocked and the surrounding area empty

"Come on, there's no one here."

As they approached the vehicle Hathaway froze again.

"Then what's that bangi-?"

Lewis wrenched open the boot before Hathaway could finish.

"Oh thank god!"

Lewis pulled Hobson out of the boot and into his arms before Hathaway and Innocent could react. The Doctor's small frame was engulfed by Lewis' and briefly all Innocent could think was that his back would probably be strained holding up Laura that long. Finally he put her on the ground and she interrupted their moment.

"Who did this?"

"Nice to see you too."

"I'm sorry, are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Can you describe his face?"

"I was bundled into a boot Jean I didn't exactly have a conversation with him."

"So it was a man?"

Laura took a steadying breath and nodded.

"Yes it was a man."

Lewis immediately butted in.

"Did he try-?"

"No. Don't worry Robbie he didn't try anything like that. He just grabbed me out of nowhere and I had a glove in my mouth before I could scream and the next thing I knew I was in a boot."

Hathaway lit another cigarette.

"So this man is our only suspect for the murder."

"Sergeant, there's no proof that it was a murder and as much as I'm sure Dr Hobson would happily start cutting now we'll have to wait till we can contact the police before any investigation starts."

Due to the dark Innocent couldn't quite see the strength of the looks being directed at her but she knew that all her companions were undoubtedly glaring at her fiercely. It bothered her more than she cared to think about.

"The best we can do is stick together and wait till morning."

"Then what? Walk till we find a sign of civilisation?"

Hobson looked at Innocent with confusion.

"What about the car?"

"The car's...out of action."

"How?"

"Someone shot out one of the tyres."

Hobson nodded silently, biting her lip with concern before speaking. "The man, I think I heard him talking to someone."

They fell silent as realisation sunk in – there was more than one person out there.


	9. Chapter 9

9.

"Where to now then?"

Hathaway's voice cut through the tense silence that had descended over the group. They were yet to move away from the car, the engine of which was still running, despite all of them reaching the conclusion that this wasn't the safest place to be. Lewis still had his arms around Hobson, holding onto her shoulders in such a way that he seemed to be reassuring himself she was still there – Hathaway thought it was an indicator of the atmosphere within the group that the usually so independent Hobson was allowing him to fuss over her so much.

"Let's just take this car and keep driving, when we find some civilisation then we can send reinforcements to catch whoever's out here."

Hathaway leaned into the car and immediately came out, looking grim.

"I don't think we'll get far. The petrol tanks nearly empty, our murderers must have used it to soak the car."

"Sergeant, there's no proof that it was a murder and as much as I'm sure Dr Hobson would happily start cutting now we'll have to wait till we can contact the police before any investigation starts."

Due to the dark Innocent couldn't quite see the strength of the looks being directed at her but she knew that all her companions were undoubtedly glaring at her fiercely. It bothered her more than she cared to think about.

"The best we can do is stick together and wait till morning."

"Then what? Walk till we find a sign of civilisation?" Hathaway's tone remained as neutral as ever but Lewis could hear how ridiculous he thought this potential plan to be.

Hobson looked at the DSI with confusion.

"What happened to your car?"

"Someone shot out one of the tyres."

Hobson nodded silently, biting her lip with concern before speaking, seeming unsure in what she was saying.

"If they were going to torch this car-"

"Presumably with our corpse inside."

"Then they have to have another one somewhere. As I haven't been roasted to a crisp with it we can assume they're gone to fetch the body."

"Which means if we can find the other car first maybe we can get away."

"And if we split up we can cover more ground-"

Hathaway and Hobson were cut off by Innocent's horrified tones.

"There's a killer on the loose and an accomplice. Is it really wise not to stay together?"

"Divide and conquer?"

Lewis, despite hating the thought of inviting more danger, could see that this may be their only option and found himself joining in the attempt to convince Innocent of the same.

"We need to find something, some clue to what's going on here-"

"We need to get out of this wood. It's not our jurisdiction and-"

"We're bloody coppers and this is a mystery, we've got to find out what the hell's going on!"

Innocent seemed to be desperately controlling the anger in her voice.

"We're not the Famous Five Lewis! We're three unarmed officers, none of whom are trained in _any_ kind of combat and two of whom are well past fighting age and a Doctor who's probably in shock."

"Thanks Jean."

"I'm sorry to be so blunt."

"No you're not. And neither am I – you're being a bloody coward. I've been covered in a dying man's blood and not been able to do a bloody thing to help him, been snatched and manhandled into a boot and to top it all off I could have been burnt alive. Gun or not, I want to find these bastards and watch Hathaway arrest them."

Both of the women fell silent, Innocent in particular looking lost for words. Hathaway scuffed his feet for a moment before speaking.

"If you don't mind me asking Doctor, why me and not Inspector Lewis?"

Robbie spoke before Laura could.

"Because she knows if I had the chance I'd smash their heads in...right, we're getting nowhere just standing here, Ma'am, are you in or not?"


	10. Chapter 10

10.

"Alright, you two go that way; Laura and I will go this way."

"Is that really such a good idea Ma'am? We know there's someone still out there...and...well..."

The twin glares he received from Innocent and Hobson told him that his concern was not appreciated.

"He may have a point, you've already been snatched once Doctor."

Laura looked for a moment like she might agree with them before moving quickly over to Innocent's side.

"You'll have to let her out of your sight sooner or later Lewis. If we say walk for half an hour then head back in this direction, unless you find something of course in which case...erm..."

"Shout?"

"No, our friends might hear too."

"Anyone know any bird calls?"

The older three all looked suspiciously at Hathaway, unable to tell from his neutral tones whether he was serious or not.

"Do you?"

"One or two."

"Right," Robbie stored this information away for later use, now was not the time to find it amusing. "What'll you two do?"

Innocent and Hobson shared a look and Lewis wondered whether it was safe to leave them together, regardless of outside influences they were unlikely to return unscathed if forced to be alone in each other's company.

"We'll think of something on the way."

The four of them froze, finding themselves extremely reluctant to split up; Lewis in particular had pulled Hobson into a hug that suggested he thought they'd never see each other again whilst the other two stood around awkwardly, feeling distinctly as though they were intruding.

"I'll be back, stop worrying."

Eventually Hobson managed to untangle herself from Lewis' arms. Hesitating for just a second she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, rubbing his shoulder with something she hoped was reassurance.

"I promise Robbie."

He nodded sadly and briefly pulled her to him to kiss her forehead before allowing her to slip away into the night with Innocent.

"Come on Sir, the sooner we start..."

Lewis' eyes didn't immediately move from the dark expanse of trees where the two women had vanished but from his slightly nodding head Hathaway thought his voice must have at least had some impact.

Eventually Lewis turned around.

"Let's go."

And they walked. They walked for what, to Hathaway, felt like years, passing identical trees that had long since started to blur into one and not speaking a word. He checked his watch. Twenty minutes. Occasionally Hathaway would open his mouth and consider the possibility of making small talk but his Inspector seemed so determined to cover ground as fast as possible that he thought better of it.

"I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to her."

"To both of them sir?"

"What...oh yeah."

Lewis had the good grace to look guiltily at his Sergeant before they continued onwards.

"You'll get it one day Jim."

"I hope so si-"

Hathaway cut himself off as they entered a clearing and it became apparent that they were not alone.

Two men came into their torch-light, one of them taller and bulky, the other meaner looking and with something shining in his right hand. He laughed filthily.

"I s'pose you're looking for you pretty little lady friend?"

Lewis could feel the anger bubbling inside him and would have ran at the man of not for the larger of the two men reaching into his jacket. There was the glint as the moon caught the metal of a gun but before the man could aim Hathaway leapt forward and tackled him to the ground, effectively knocking the gun out of his hand and rolling into the shadows around them.

Lewis heard the other one coming towards him and instinctively ducked in time to miss the first punch thrown his way, he brought his own fist into the man's stomach but upon realising how hard it was against his knuckles deduced that this man was in much better shape than him and this was going to be at best, embarrassing, at worst, fatal.

Lewis felt a moment of blinding pain as the second fist connected with his face – he had been anticipating a punch but not one strengthened by keys. He had instinctively turned his head in an attempt to get out of the way, giving him a mighty scratch across his eyebrow but saving him from losing an eye. He felt a foot collide with his leg and stumbled to the ground, sparing a brief moment to hope Hathaway was doing better with his adversary.

Suddenly in the silence of the night there was a screeching noise that brought him immediately to his senses. He picked his head off the ground and in the distance his blurry eye could see headlights hurtling towards them.


	11. Chapter 11

11.

For a moment Lewis was convinced that his eyes were playing tricks on him, before the realisation of what was happening sank in – Innocent was speeding towards him in a van and before he could even consider where she had got it from she had pulled up alongside the two men and the doors were thrown open by the Doctor, who had apparently been hiding in the back.

"Get in!"

They didn't need telling twice. Lewis and Hathaway scrambled into the back of the van, dodging the pile of tarpaulin shoved against one side and Innocent sped away before they could even slam the doors.

"Where the hell did you get this from!?"

Laura had the decency to look slightly guilty as she climbed into the passenger seat and the boys clung onto the back of the only two seats – Innocent was still putting her foot down and was manoeuvring around the thinning trees.

"We found it on the other side of the woods. It must belong to your friends back there."

Hathaway noted the smashed window on the driver's side.

"You stole a van?"

"We acquisitioned it," Innocent supplied, sounding quite superbly lofty.

Lewis grimaced as he inadvertently rubbed his sore eye.

"But they had their keys, the smaller git had them in his hand when he hit me."

Laura stifled laughter and even Innocent smirked.

"I'd like to blame my hot-wiring skills on years of being exposed to criminals but I once went out with a mechanic who was always losing keys."

Hobson had a hand over her mouth and Lewis exchanged an incredulous look with Hathaway, both of them noticing even in the dark that Innocent was blushing slightly.

"So while you two were playing silly buggers with the Krays back there we smashed the window, Laura marvellous dexterity opened to door," Hobson waved her right hand vaguely as she smirked, "I fiddled with the wires and drove towards the sounds of the shot only to witness the girliest fight ever."

Lewis rolled his eyes before realising his mistake. It was still horribly sore. He'd have to get Laura to look at it later.

"They did have a gun-"

"It's alright Lewis. You both did well."

A new atmosphere set over the group at Innocent's words. Hathaway's face lit up at the compliment, Robbie resisted for about ten seconds before gripping onto Laura's shoulder – _"Are you alright pet?"/ "I'm fine, stop bloody fussing!" – _and Innocent finally, finally seemed to have slowed down.

"We're on a road. Oh thank Christ! It's been a few years since I've had to drive like that."

"You never forget Ma'am. Once a copper..."

Lewis grinned at her and for once she responded in kind however Hathaway's worried tones soon cut across the van.

"Erm...I don't mean to alarm anyone but I think I'm standing in a puddle of blood."


	12. Chapter 12

12.

Hathaway shone his torch towards his feet and sure enough Lewis and Hobson both saw the pool of blood that was spreading further with every second, expanding around Hathaway's shoes and approaching Lewis'.

"It's not yours is it?"

"No. I think it's coming from the tarpaulin."

Lewis crouched down and tried to reach around his Sergeant before looking up exasperatedly.

"Hathaway you can move man, it's not gonna hurt you."

With better access, Hathaway and Hobson shining torches towards the mess and Innocent having slowed down her driving considerably Lewis found it easy to slowly unwrap the plastic, being fairly certain what they would find inside. Sure enough the blank and pale face of the deceased man they had found so many hours ago now was revealed.

"Yeah, it's our body."

From the front seat Innocent didn't dare turn her head – the road was so dark and uneven that she could crash at any moment – however she did offer her opinion and it was with the voice of reason that Lewis found himself extremely comforted to hear.

"Well, if we've got the body, then we've got evidence. You two have seen their faces and one of the three of you _must_ have some skin cells or something on you, if I have to insist on a full manhunt of the North West I'll do it until we find them."

Robbie couldn't quite believe his ears to begin with; eventually a grin emerged on his face.

"Laura, do us a favour and kiss her for me, I can't reach from here."

To all their extreme surprise Laura did lift herself out of her seat and laughing kissed Innocent on the cheek, at which point Lewis joined in the laughing, Jean went an interesting magenta colour and Hathaway looked briefly contemplative.

"There may be room for my legs now, but there is a dead body back here, Doctor Hobson...swap with me?"

It didn't include nearly as many arguments as it had earlier that day and soon Lewis was helping Hobson to climb towards him, perhaps not with entirely unselfish motives and Hathaway had to control his feet, coming dangerously close to kicking their driver in the side of the head. The silence fell over the group again, Hathaway kept a look out for any sign of life whilst Innocent surreptitiously checked the fuel gage as often as possible, still not entirely convinced that they were going to get away. Although the other two couldn't see them Hobson and Lewis had huddled in the corner not occupied by a body.

"Are you-?"

"If you ask me if I'm alright one more time Robbie you can join our friend on the pile."

"Fair enough."

He placed an arm tentatively around her shoulders and held her close as she wrapped her fingers around the hand he was using to steady them both.

"You owe me a dinner."

"Do I?"

"Yes," she smirked, "You promised me that the moment we'd checked in tonight we'd sneak right back out."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

They shared a smile at Innocent's interjection.

"If you like we can re-arrange the outing?"

"Re-arrange?"

"Yeah, when we get back to Oxford. Or wherever we're heading tonight..."

"Where are we heading tonight?"

He understood her meaning and seized upon the opportunity. She was already so close that it didn't take much for Robbie to lean down and kiss her, softly at first, testing the water but soon they were both overcome and Laura was gripping onto his shoulder to steady herself as she curved her body into his.

To Lewis it seemed like a perfect moment to end this horrible night. Until a cough interrupted them and reminded him forcibly that this bloody night wasn't yet over.

"Sir, I consider myself a romantic and I know we dragged you away from a possible farewell snog earlier but there are some sights," "and sounds," added Innocent with a long-suffering sigh, "that you might want to keep to yourselves."

"Cheeky sod," Hobson buried her head in his chest to contain her laughter, "Right then Ma'am, where are we heading?"

"I thought I might try the police station we're parked outside of, what do you think Inspector?"

Hathaway grinned along with the Superintendent as Hobson and Lewis tried not to turn red.

An hour, at least three cups of tea each and several garibaldi's later the story had been told to the local policemen, who at first seemed rather sceptical that the four people that stood before them covered in leaves, smudges of dirt, smatterings of blood, the occasional twig and smelling faintly of petrol were the people they said they were but their knowledge of the technical jargon eventually convinced them.

The body was taken away to be examined and the descriptions provided of the two men identified them as being local small time criminals who recently had fallen in with a worse crowd and were now wanted for armed robbery. The possibility of catching murderers seemed to spur the local police along and they were soon out looking for the suspects.

Lewis was, for once, glad to be out of it. They had been taken to the nearest hotel and had soon settled themselves in the bar – a drowsy calm had fallen over them all, helped along by the large dinner and copious amounts of wine they had consumed. He felt Laura's head fall onto his shoulder and though he noticed Hathaway and Innocent raising their eyebrows with something like amusement, he ignored them.

He closed his eyes, let his head rest against the back of the sofa and joined Laura in blissfully peaceful sleep.

End.


End file.
